Thursday, April 20, 2017

Contaminating Evidence ONE

The theoretical question highlighted below was originally posted on a forum to provide work material for students. Recently the same question was resurrected again by a student seeking a response to the question for a test paper?

“What would you do if presented with an exhibit bag containing a mobile phone (which cannot be fully accessed without a SIM Card) and a SIM Card (which was not inserted and may/may not be associated with the device) separately and what could the affects be if the SIM Card was inserted into the mobile phone?”

As there had been no response at the forum to provide possible answers to the question above I thought I would discuss issues that could arise.

My first doubt with the question, having read it, is that it could lead to an impression that tick sheet (multiple-choice) responses would be sufficient to answer the question. In my view that would be wrong, because unless the multiple-choice options had been meticulously researched and condensed to a single accurate word, it is possible the person passing the test could believe his/her knowledge was sufficient to handle evidence when in fact that may not be so.
I formed the opinion that this question is better suited to an essay-style response to flesh-out possibilities the question raises and identify the knowledge possessed by the person taking the test. Such a test may produce a failure in knowledge, but not failure of the person taking the test; trial and error enhances the experience of the person who then has an opportunity to research the areas of failure.
PREAMBLE
The question raises potential material concerns about the way the item has been ‘seized’ and, so to speak, ‘bagged’ (evidence/exhibit bag). The competency and skillsets of those involved in the seizure may come under scrutiny. The SIO (senior investigating officer) or SO (senior officer) may need to look at the scheduling of the investigating and seizing team despatched to site: Scene of Crime (SoC), Warrant to Search, etc. Who was the seizing officer? What training have they received? Does s/he understand the principles of avoiding contamination and/or cross-contamination?  What if the seizure occurred due to stop and search? Would the rules be different then?  No, the rules of seizure wouldn’t be different merely the understanding of the person conducting the seizure how to implement them.
So, what might be the concerns? The question omits to identify
(a)    comments in the seizure log, contemporaneous witness statement and/or photographs of found items at site?
(b)    whether the handset has SIM/s (don’t forget dual-SIM handsets) already inserted?
(c)     whether the handset battery is connected or loose in the bag?
(d)    if the is battery still connected is the handset switched ON/OFF when seized?
(e)    if switched ON, what network ICONs etc., were visible?
(f)      did the seizing officer switch ON/OFF the handset or was the handset allowed to drain the battery’s charge naturally?
(g)    if the battery is loose in bag, did the seizing officer remove battery or was it found that way?
(h)    if battery removed from handset does it reveal the SIM slot/s are empty or in use in the battery well?
(i)    does the handset have a SIM slot on the side of the handset and is the SIM slot gate open or closed?
At this stage in the discussion you may think the above questions are enough? Well they are not. The evidence/exhibit bag should not be opened by the examiner and further considerations on the mind of the examiner might be to ascertain if possible whether an immediate link can be seen between the handset and loose SIM card in the evidence/exhibit bag?
(j)    logo on handset and SIM card; is there a connection?
(k)     SIM Serial Number (SSN); check out mobile operator ID?
(l)    SIM form factor; size 1FF, 2FF, 3FF, 4FF or ID-1, plug-in size, micro-card, nano-card?
(m)    make/model of handset; which SIM form factor does it use?
(n)      if battery is loose in bag; is the battery even associated with the handset?
Yet a further potential point to raise is whether the Lab Manager or Section Leader immediately grasp the significance of the contents in evidence/exhibit bag?
(o)    at goods-inwards point of delivery?
(p)    was the person delivering the evidence able to provide supporting details?
(q)      if not, have enquiries be made to the client for supporting details?
(r)      has the evidence/exhibit bag just been handed over to the examiner to get on with it?
The chain of custody (from hand-to-hand) also requires discussion in this essay, which started out looking where seizure began through to delivery to the examiner. Examiners may find there is an elliptical procedure needed to be adhered to where initial seizure is faultless and alteration has occurred down the line.
Prior to receipt of the evidence/exhibit bag and its contents it is quite possible the exhibits themselves have been previously examined. This is in case of being subjected to the analysis of:
(s)    fingerprinting
(t)      DNA
(u)  drugs
(v)    GSR
Could it be the case (during these process (s)-(v)) the items that were separately seized have accidently now been co-located in the same evidence/exhibit bag? Problematical where evidence has been cross-contaminated is that it may cause a miscarriage to any effective results obtained during examination processes and procedures. Moreover, it might give weight to a confession through false belief the items belonged together. That may happen long before any test of admissibility of the evidence begins.
Lastly, an examiner should check in-house Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), such as:
(w)    Any Laboratory General and Standard SOPS
(x)    Any General Guidance on Mobile Phone Examination SOPS
(y)    SIMLESS HANDSET Examination SOPS
(z)     Any other consideration SOPS
 
SUMMARY ONE
This essay discussion has been an exercise into possible implications arising from the conditions set out in a proposed theoretical question.
It may not be immediately obvious but prior to delving into examinations based upon ‘if’ or ‘if not’ scenarios establishing the seizure procedure and chain of custody are safe to rely on (at first instance) might be necessary? This might require checking
(#1) seizure and bagging
(#2) transport and quarantine
(#3) previous examinations
(#4) goods inwards to testing laboratory
Such an approach could be underpinned by establishing principles stated in the Laboratory’s SOPS and escalated for consideration to management prior to opening the evidence/exhibit bag and commencing any inspection and examination of the items inside.
This essay discussion is not complete because a second analysis and summary is required to deal with the potential implications of inserting the loose SIM card into the handset inside the evidence/exhibit bag. This is dealt with in Contaminated Evidence TWO which can be found here: http://trewmte.blogspot.co.uk/2017/04/contaminating-evidence-two.html
 

 
 
 

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